Dump gar



Nov. 2o, 1928. 1,692,216

R. W. MOTISHER DUMP CAR Filed Aug. 6, 1927 Cil Patented Nov. 20, 1928.

tJNlTlfll DUMP GAR.

Application le. August 6, 1927.

This invention relates to improvements in hopper cars, and more particularly to the dumping mechanism.

l-leretoiore hopper cars, used tor trans- 5 porting coal, sand, gravel and similar materials, have been provided with doors ot various types, designed to be opened when the lading is to be unloaded. Such doors open by gravity and when in the closed position serve to partially support the weight of .the material. They are held in closed position by various conventional locking mechanism. The disadvantage ot such structures is that the locking mechanism is subjected to great strains and it these are broken or displaced from locking position, by the jars due to transit, an appreciable loss ot lading` results.

It is an object ot my invention to provide a door tor a hopper car which closes by gravity.

Another object ot my invention is to provide a car ot' this character in which the weight ot the lading is utilized to maintain the hopper door in closed position.

A further object is to provide a hopper door so designed as to reduce lading losses to a minimum.

embodies its underlying principles. ln these the same reference numerals reter to similar parts throughout the several views, of which Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a hopper car einbodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view oit the device shown 'in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross section talren on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4; is an enlarged detail view ot the operating mechanism and its associated locking means.

rlhere is shown in the drawings a car 1 supported in a conventional manner, through the intermediacy ot journals and axles, upon the flanged whee Ae.: AM

The car is prer'ided Serial No. 211,186.

with longitudinal trame members 3 and side supports a in the usual manner. To the trames and supports are riveted, or otherwise suitably secured, plates 5 which form the car body. Attached to the traine pieces are the bottom plates 6. is shown, particularly in Fig. l, these are mounted at an angle to the horizontal so as to present an inclined surt'ace to facilitate discharge ot the load in the manner well understood.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3. there is provided an arcuate plate forming the bottom of the cai' adjacent the hopper. At its peripheral edges this plate member is extended angularly, as at 8, to present L-shaped securing iianges. rFliese flanges may be riveted, welded, or otherwise suitably attached to the adjacent side plates o't the car body. As will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 1` the arcuate hopper plate is substantially quadrantal in circumferential length and its ends terminate some distance troni the subjacent ends of the inclined plates 6. By reason of this construction a space is permitted, at the end of the chute 6, tor the egress of the lading.

ylhere are provided curved door plate meinbers which cooperate with the hopper bottoni and the chutes to close off the discharge ends ot the chutes and retain the lading within the car. These doors comprise essentially arcuate plates 9 conforming in curvature to the hopper plate .7. Rigidly secured to the under side of the door plates are a plurality of truss members 10. Adjacent the plate these are provided with curved terminal iianges 11 adapted to rest 'flatly against the plates. These members may be rigidly attached together by rivets, spot welds, or any other convenient means. At their other ends 95 the truss members 10 may be joined and provided at the juncture or apex with an elon gated collar 12.

rlhe doors 9 are mounted on a car body tor oscillating movement in such a manner as to 100 close or open either chute opening at the option ot the operator. To accomplish this purpose the side members of the car are eX- tended downwardly as at 13. At the lower port-ion the extensions are drawn out at 14 105 and apertured so as to provide elongated bushings. These bushings are adapted to receive the terminal ends of a supporting shaft 15. The collars 12, of the truss members l0, are keyed to the shaft 15 so 11o as to rotate thereithA It will be appredmr supported from the car frame and may swing` with the shaft 15. It is to be understood that in lieu of extending the sides ot the car to serve as a support for the truss shatt any other method may be employed; thus the ends of the shaft may be supported in a skeleton framing attached to and depending from the bottom of the car. Likewise the truss members 10 in place ot being joined at their contiguous ends may be separately mounted on the shaft.

When the chutes are closed the door plate is in the position shown at the right side oi Fig. 1, with its lower end abutting the adjacent edge of the inclined bottom plate 6. It will be seen that the weight ot the door plate and its connected truss i'nembers 10 tend to rotate these members downwardly and thus act to retain the door in its closed position. It is apparent also that the weight ot the lading, bearing downwardly on the curved surface of the door plate, exerts a downward force thereon and thus aids materially in maintaining it in closed position.

Vhen it is desired to discharge the ladingfrom the car the door plates may be moved upwardly. To permit such movementthere is-provided a simple mechanism adapted to act directly upon the doors to elevate them to the desired position. This comprises rotatable members connected through transmission mechanisnis to the door plate. More specifically the elevating means includes a rotatable shaft 16 suitably journaled in support plates 1? aiiizred to the car body. These plates may be formed with elongated journal bearings to insure smooth rotative movement of the shat'ts. intermediate its ends each ot the shafts has keyed thereon a plurality of pinion wheels 16. Rigidly secured to the under side ot the door plates and co-extensivc therewith are segmental racks 19. The pinion gears mesh with the rac-ks in the manner well understood.

As will be noted :from anvinspection of Fig. 3, the ends of the shafts 16 project some distance beyond the vexterior faces ot the plates 17. .lhe protruding ends ot the shaft are formed with an angled surface 16, to receive a crank or wrench. lt will be seen that by means ol such a tool. either ol the shafts may be rotated in the desired direction to open'or close the doors. As an exan'iple. it it is desired to open the lett hand chute (Fig. 1) the shaft 16 is rotated in a clockwise direction. This movement is imparted to the door through the intermediacy of" the pinion 18 andv rack 19. When the tool is removed from the shaft the weight of the door 9 'and its-associated parts will cause adepression of the door to its closed position.

Since the hopper doors are adapted to close by gravity it is essential that means be provided to retain them inelevated position during the period of unloadinfr. A typical construction accomplishing this result is shown in detail in Fig. t. This comprises a ratchet wheel. 2O and an associated pawl 21 cooperatingwith each end of each shaft. rThe ratchet wheel may be keyed to the shaft 16 so as to rotate therewith. The pawl 21 is freely pivoted upon a stud 22 so as to be swungto 'the two positions shown by lull and broken lines in Fig. 4l. At its :tree end each pawl is formed withal aterally shouldered head portion 23 adapted to lit snugly between the serrat-ions upon the periphery oi' the ratchet wheel. Y y

ln a construction ot tiistype it is desirable to insure a positive locking of the door during the unloading` of the car. To accomplish this there is provided two locking members operatively associated with each pawl. These comprise essentially the arms 24 freely pivoted upon the pivot pins 25. As shown, Jthe lower ends o'll the arms are squared. l/Vhen it is desired to lock the door in any predetermined position, the pawl 21 is swung about its pivot so as to enga-ge the teeth of the ratchet wheel. l1' it is desired to lool; the right hand door (as viewed in Fig. 1) the pawl 2l is moved to the position shown in dotted lines in lTig. a. After the pawl has engaged the ratchet the locking arm on the lett lis swung in a clockwise direction about its pivot 25 until the squared end seats in the shoulder formed by the shank and projecting head of the pawl. In this position the pawl is securely locked and movement oll the shaft 16 and the hopper door is prevented. Il" the left hand door (Fig. 1) is to be locked, the pawl 21 is moved to the position shown in full lines in Fig. l and the right hand arm 25 is swungin a countercloclrwise direction to engage and retain itin locking position.

It will be appreciated that by freely pivoting the pawl and by providing the two lockarms 251 the locking mechanism may be ot standard c mstruction and hence can be mounted on either end of each shatt.- This interchangeability or" parts assures econo-mies of manufacture and replacement. Likewise the door plates 9 and truss membersl() may be made interchangeable.

In Fig. 3 there is shown ,l diagrammatically, a modified 'form ol the bearing plate 17. 1 It may be found desirable to provide some means ttor protecting the tree. ends oi: the shaft 16 and the associated looking mechanisms. This may readily be done by forming the plate 17- w-ith laterally extending flanges. rllo simplity the drawings, but a portion ot' the liange 26 has been shown. Itis to be understood, however, that this may extend around the perimeter of the plate and projects at such a distance as to 'form an open faced casing` to protect the parts mentioned.

It will also be appreciated that the portion ot the car adjacent the curved door plates 9 may be provided with arcuate channel iscy grooves which receive the edges of the plate and act as guides therefor. It is also manifest that any suitable anti-friction means may be associated with these two parts.

The operation of the device will be apparent from the foregoing description. When in normal position the arcuate doors are in their lowermost position and close to ends of the hopper chutes. Vhen the car is to be unloaded the shafts '16 are rotated in the appropriate directions by means of a suitable tool. After the doors have been elevated to their upper limit or to any desired intermediate position, they may be retained there by causing engagement of the pawl with the ratchet wheel. After the desired amount of material has been unloaded the door or doors may be returned to closed position by releasing the pawl. If, for any reason, the doors become jammed so that their weight is not suiiicient to effect the closing, the shafts 16 may be positively rotated by again utilizing` the crank or wrench. It is to be noted particularly that the two doors are separately op erable and that this operation may be performed from either side of the car.

It is to be understood, of course, that the particular construction of the door may be varied to render it suitable for the several types of hopper cars. If the device is to be applied to a Car provided with a central longitudinal frame member, each door would be made of two sections. rIhe general principles of construction and mode of operation would, however, obtain with such modifications.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is merely for the purposes of exempliication, for since its underlying principles may be embodied in other specific mechanical structures, I do not intend to be limited to those shown and described ex cept as such limitations are clearly imposed by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A hopper car comprising side members and an upwardly convex bottom portion, an arcuate door plate juxtaposed to the bottom portion.

2. A hopper car comprising an upwardly convex bottom portion, a pivotal arcuate door member adjacent the bottom portion adapted to be closed by gravity and means to open the door.

3. A car comprising side members and a curved bottom portion, a curved door member adjacent the bottom portion, a rack attached to the door and means cooperating` with the rack to open the door.

l. A hopper car comprising` an arcuate bottom portion, an arcuate door member adjacent the bottom portion and adapted to close by gravity, a raclr attached to the door and means engaging the rack to elevate the door.

5. In a car of the character described, a door mechanism comprising an upwardly convex member adapted to close by gravity, means to open the door and mechanism operatively associated with said means to lock the door in any predetermined position.

6. A car of the character described comprising an upwardly convex bottom portion and an associated curved door member, means to operate the door member from a plurality of positions.

7. A hopper car of the class described comprising an arcuate bottom portion, an arcuate door plate adjacent the bottom portion, a raclr attached to the plate and means including a rotatable shaft positively connected to the rack to elevate the door.

8. A hopper car of the class described comprising an arcuate .bottom portion, an arcuate door plate adjacent the bottom portion, a rack fixed to the plate, means to elevate the plate including a rotatable shaft and means to loclr the shaft in any predetermined position.

9. A hopper car of the class described comprising an arcuate bottom portion, an arcuate door plate adjacent the bottom portion, a rack fixed to the plate, means to elevate the plate including a rotatable shaft, means to lock the shaft comprising a ratchet al'lixed thereon and an associated pawl.

lO. A hopper car comprising an upwardly convex bottom portion, an arcuate door plate associated therewith adapted to close by gravity and means to oscillate the door to raise it to open position.

11. A hopper car comprising an upwardly convex bottom portion, arcuate door plates associated therewith adapted to be closed by gravity and means to mountthe doors for oscillating movement about a single axis.

l2. In a car of the character described, an arcuate bottom portion, a plurality of optionally operable arcuate door plates mounted so as to close by gravity, a plurality of oper ating means for each door and means to lock the operating means.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my Signature.

ROBERT W7. MOTISHER. 

